’70s-inspired, all-day cafe and market Brothers and Sisters opening soon in Ukrainian Village

Louisa Chu/Chicago Tribune

Brothers and Sisters co-owner Erin Carlman Weber at the all-day cafe, market and bottle shop under construction in Ukrainian Village, in the former Columbia Furniture store, which closed in 2016 after 94 years.

Brothers and Sisters co-owner Erin Carlman Weber at the all-day cafe, market and bottle shop under construction in Ukrainian Village, in the former Columbia Furniture store, which closed in 2016 after 94 years. (Louisa Chu/Chicago Tribune)

Brothers and Sisters, a funky new ’70s-inspired, all-day cafe, market and bottle shop expects to open in Ukrainian Village this December. The storefront once housed part of the huge Columbia Furniture store, closed in 2016 after 94 years.

The project is a partnership among co-owners Erin Carlman Weber and Derek Herbster with Jonny Hunter, culinary director of Underground Food Collective in Madison, Wis. Hunter may be best known in the Chicago area for the collective’s Underground Meats salami sold at farmers markets, though the collective’s other projects — particularly Forequarter restaurant and Underground Butcher — are nationally and locally acclaimed.

Despite the name, the trio are not related. “We’re just good pals,” Carlman Weber said at the shop currently under construction. “Brothers and Sisters” is Herbster’s favorite Allman Brothers Band album, released in 1973. “We are heavily inspired by music,” she added. “But we also like it because it gets at the familial nature of gathering around food and drink.”

Carlman Weber was previously at Girl and the Goat as private event director, and Herbster was involved in coffee production at Stumptown Coffee Roasters. They met at Mast Brothers in Brooklyn, where they worked with friend and designer Nathan Warkentin, now founder and principal at design studio Original Action Group, based in Los Angeles. Warkentin will transform and design the space.

When you first walk into Brothers and Sisters, you will find the grab-and-go market and bottle shop, with 100 different wines and 50 beers or so. Any beverage bought in the store can be consumed on-site, with applicable corkage fee. On the opposite wall, the main counter will feature a meat and cheese case. Seating will include a six-seat counter under the front windows, an adjacent communal table, a back-corner banquette and a five-seat turquoise, red and beige Amazonite stone top bar.

“Our designer talks a lot about taking inspiration from the warmth and ease of the 1970s,” Carlman Weber said. “We do have a shag rug that will be going in (along) with lots of natural materials, like wood, stone and leather, with bright splashes of color.”

The menu from the small kitchen in the 1,500-square-foot space is still a work in progress, said Hunter by phone from Madison. He promised the collective’s renowned charcuterie and hinted at a ham plate with Italian culatello, plus shaved root vegetables like celeriac, when in season.

Ruby Coffee Roasters in Wisconsin will provide the coffee, said Herbster, also by phone, but expect no espresso drinks. “Just really great drip and cold brew with fun brew methods to stay,” he said.

The polar vortex is over, yet we're still craving hearty dishes to sink our teeth into and fuel our way through February's chilly days to come. So for the month, our "Craving" series turns to meat. Red meat, that is. From carnitas to birria, corned beef to chimichurri bistec tortas, curry pork katsu to Filipino-style lechon, we're trying Chicago's best dishes and writing about them every weekday.